Chase Slate: Your Best Bet for Balance Transfers?

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There are a lot of balance transfer credit cards out there, designed specifically for anyone who is carrying a balance on their credit card and paying high (or any) interest fees each month. In fact, there are so many it can be challenging to determine how one is better or worse than the others. Chase Slate is one of the cards vying for your business, and we took an in-depth look at this card to answer the question “is it any good?” The short answer is yes, it’s a great choice that can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars if you’re currently paying interest on another credit card. It’s one of the few cards we’ve found with the combination of a lengthy 0% intro APR and no balance transfer fee. The in-depth answer, as well as the card’s pros and cons, is explained below.

The Highlights

It’s pretty common for folks to rack up a balance on their credit cards and wonder how they are going to pay it off. Chase Slate is a strong solution, offering a 15-month 0% intro APR on both balance transfers and purchases. Many cards offer a 0% intro APR, but the best part about Slate is that you won’t pay any balance transfer fees to move your balance(s) onto this card, as long as you transfer your balance in the first 60 days. That’s a huge win, since these fees are typically 3% of the balance you’re transferring, which can add up to big money. For example, if you’re transferring $10,000 you’d probably pay $300 in fees with other cards. With Slate you pay absolutely nothing to transfer your money, and you have 15 interest-free months to make payments against the balance, which can give you even bigger savings. For example, if you were making $700 monthly payments on that $10,000 balance and had a 20% interest rate, it would take you 17 months to pay it off and you’d pay over $1,500 in interest. If you transferred that balance to Slate, you’d pay it off in 15 months with no interest, saving $1,500 and paying absolutely no fees. Just make sure you transfer your balance in the first 60 days to take advantage of the $0 balance transfer fee, as after that time there will be a 5% fee ($5 minimum).

In addition to the 0% intro APR on balance transfers, you’ll also pay no interest for 15 months on purchases. This is a great way to make any big (or small) purchases you need and save money on interest fees for over a year. Plus, Slate has no annual fee and a fairly low ongoing APR after the 0% intro APR period which is important if you plan to carry a balance after the 15 months are up.

If you’ve been known to make a late payment or two you’ll appreciate that Slate has no penalty APR. This means your interest rate won’t increase if your payment is delayed. We don’t recommend habitually paying your bill late, but it’s nice to know if it does happen your interest rate won’t go up.

Another huge point in Slate’s favor is that it’s available to those with good credit. A good credit score is typically considered to be around the 700s. Usually credit cards with the best offers are only available to people with excellent credit histories, but Slate has all the great features offered to excellent credit consumers and is open to those with merely good credit. So if you’ve missed a payment or two, or had some other minor hits on your credit report you will likely still qualify for this card. Of course, Slate also considers other factors like your annual salary and wages, your other annual income and a review of your debt, but in general those with good credit have a good shot.

Things to Consider

Chase Slate is a smart way to gradually pay down your balance over the course of the 15-month 0% intro APR period, and after the no-interest period is up it continues to offer reasonable ongoing APRs. Or take a look at the Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express (a NextAdvisor advertiser), which also features a 15-month 0% intro APR on balance transfers and $0 balance transfer fees on transfers made in the first 60 days. The Amex EveryDay Credit Card has no annual fee, earns rewards on purchases, offers an intro bonus opportunity and extends its 15-month 0% intro APR to purchases.

If a 15-month 0% intro APR isn’t quite enough, but you think you can pay down your balance in under 1.5 years, consider the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card. It has a lengthy 20-month intro APR on balance transfers and purchases, and has no annual fee. There is a 3% balance transfer fee ($5 min), but those 3 extra months of no interest on balance transfers might make it worthwhile.

Slate’s chip-enabled card makes it easy to travel internationally, but there is a 3% foreign transaction fee for each purchase you make. This fee can add up, particularly if you’re taking a long vacation and charging most purchases onto your card. If this is a deal-breaker for you, the Discover it Balance Transfer card is an alternative to Slate that features no foreign transaction fees, no annual fee, and a 18-month 0% intro APR on balance transfers (there is 3% balance transfer fee). You can also earn with 5% cash back (up to the quarterly max – currently $1,500 – then 1% back) in categories that rotate quarterly, and a standard 1% cash back on all other purchases. Note that you do need to sign up each quarter to receive the 5% back, but this is quick and easy.

Although Slate is a great balance transfer card, it doesn’t offer any rewards. If you’re interested in a balance transfer card that also has strong cash back rewards, take a look at the Citi Double Cash Card (a NextAdvisor advertiser) which has a 18-month 0% intro APR on balance transfers, an effective 2% cash back on all purchases and no annual fee (note: the card does have a 3% balance transfer fee, $5 min).

Should You Apply for Chase Slate?

Chase Slate is a very strong card that lets you transfer your existing balances free of charge and pay no interest for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases. We highly recommend Chase Slate, as it is one of our top-ranked balance transfer cards. It’s particularly appealing because it’s available to those with good (rather than just excellent) credit. There are some potential drawbacks though, including no rewards and a foreign transaction fee. If these are concerns for you, check out the above-mentioned alternatives. You can also take advantage of our free Balance Transfer Calculator to see which card is the best choice for your particular situation.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This content was accurate at the time of this post, but card terms and conditions may change at any time. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

I have this card and got it exactly for this reason. I move stuff back and forth between two cards that let me do this whenever they offer me this if I’ve had to make some house repair. It’s very easy to have a good credit score. The internet has articles on how to keep your credit score up.

Updated 02/02/17: Correction. They said that it takes a couple of days after being qualified to be able to do a balance transfer. The APR is currently at 0%.

Today, I applied for the Chase Slate with $0 balance transfer fee and $0 interest for the first 15 months. Went onto my online account to transfer the balance from one of my credit cards and their system tells me that I don’t have ENOUGH credit to do a transfer. How can that be, it has a $0 balance. Even though, It’s only $2,000 which I was qualified for and the interest they gave me is 24.99%. It just goes to show you, don’t believe everything you read.

Good question, Elizabeth! If you wish to apply for Chase Slate, visit our Chase Slate review and click “Apply Now”. You will then be brought to Chase’s website, where you can fill out an application online.

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About Author

Tasha Lockyer

Tasha has been working in Silicon Valley for the past 20 years, enjoying a long-lived career in Product Management and Marketing. She is currently the Vice President of Product Management for NextAdvisor, and in addition to product development, I.T. projects and an assortment of other endeavors, she has has spent the last 8 years covering all things credit, credit cards and identity theft protection. Her credit card analysis has been cited in a wide array of leading publications including Forbes, New York Times, Business Insider, CBS News and Huffington Post.

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